Calgary police examining arrows after hares shot

An operation to remove an arrow from a hare found in Calgary. (Submitted by Dianne Wittner)

Calgary police are testing two arrows for fingerprints after the discovery of two injured hares.

The first, a white tail prairie hare discovered two weeks ago in Douglasdale, is making a speedy recovery. The second, found in Crestmont last Saturday, had to be put down.

Calgary police, who are testing for fingerprints, suspect the incidents aren’t connected because the two arrows are different.

Wildlife biologist Dianne Wittner says there's been an increase in animal cruetly cases in Calgary over the last couple of years.

"We've certainly seen many cases of that with pellet guns being probably the most common and people are often horrified when they realize what they've done. It's like just take a minute and think about the cruelty, the pain and suffering and whether or not you really should be doing what you're doing."

Wittner says regardless of the circumstances, it's cruelty to animals.

"I wish I could say this was shocking. But I've been in this business for a long time and I've seen an increase in deliberate cruelty towards wildlife, especially the last couple of years."

Police, bylaw services officers or provincial fish and wildlife officials could lay charges or levy fines, depending on the circumstances of each case.